Jack Trepanier Has Passed Away

We were deeply saddened to learn of Jack Trepainer’s passing this morning. Jack, Troy Trepanier’s father, was a key member of the Rad Rides team since it began in 1990. He was recovering from open heart surgery yesterday and passed this morning.

Not only was he a hard core hot rodder, he was a skilled craftsman, industry stalwart and a regular fixture at hot rodding events nationwide. Together with his wife Judy and Brian “Moose” Ferguson – they traveled the country extensively, transporting the Rad Rides vehicles to hot rod shows in all regions. Jack was one of our favorites at Goodguys events – always good for a warm welcome and a funny joke.

At the Rad Rides facility, Jack was the go-to guy for wiring and electronics for many, many years. He ran a lot of the company logistics as well as the website and internet duties at Rad Rides in his later years.

“This is such a shock,” said Goodguys President Marc Meadors. “Jack and Troy and the whole Rad Rides team were such a huge part of our events. They have been involved with Goodguys and were vendors at our events since the early 90s, sharing their amazing cars with us. He was a really good guy. I enjoyed our frequent visits so much. He will be missed by everyone. My thoughts go out to his family.”

Danny Burrow, longtime friend and partner of Jack’s and driver of the Trepanier-built “Blowfish” Bonneville race car remembered Jack as a dear friend. “Over the year’s we ran hundreds of thousands of road miles together. I talked with Jack Wednesday before he went into surgery and told him I loved him. That was the last time we spoke.”

“Jack was like brother to me,” Burrow said. “We talked every week sometimes 4 or 5 times a week figuring out our next trip. We hauled so many cars together over the years. He was such a funny guy – always cracking jokes. This one really, really hurts. In this industry you have a lot of friends then you have the people you’re really close to. For me Jack was one of those people. We’ve lost a great friend to hot rodding.”

Jack Trepanier is survived by his wife Judy, son Troy, daughter Annette and four grandchildren.

As we get memorial service information we’ll pass it along…

-After building Wes Rydell’s 1935 Chevy Phaeton and winning America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award in Pomona, Jack and the gang were all smiles. Pictured from left to right are Troy Trepanier, Jack Trepanier, Wes Rydell, Vivian Rydell and Judy Trepanier